While in the car, Solomon gets a message from Adelar, stating that he can wait until the next day and that they should rest.

“You did what now, Father?” Lisa asks, seemingly in awe. “Of course I’m not there when you do something wicked!”

“May the Lord forgive me for it.” Durazo says solemnly.

Solomon holds the blessed blade of grass, and to her delight, it doesn’t melt or go through any adverse effects on the way back. Lisa brings Durazo and Solomon home before going back to her residence herself.

Solomon trudges up to her apartment, feeling terribly tired. However, she just has to try something that’ll surely make her feel better about her power. Just a few pieces of clothing…

She takes her scarf into her hand and focuses on it, just like how she did with the final blade of grass. Her markings light up and the scarf starts to glow the same shade of green. Once she’s done, she shakes a little in excitement and puts her scarf back on.

“Take that, legends!” She utters, triumphant. She does the same to her gloves, dress and then the rest of her wardrobe at home. It makes her feel ecstatic, the knowledge that she isn’t just an instrument of destruction. She already blessed all her clothing, but why stop there? She does the same to most of her possessions, furniture, carpet and the like. She even tries it on the wall, but it doesn’t seem to work quite as well. She figures that the surface must be a little too big for that.

After protecting everything she owns from herself, she finally decides that it’s time to go to sleep. She turns off the lights, but her room barely gets any darker. She looks through her window and sees that it’s getting bright outside.

“Not again…” She whines in exasperation.

Despite everything, she goes to bed and sleeps a grand total of three hours. Her dreams only leave her more tired than she was before going to sleep, much to her annoyance. Regardless, she gets up, tries to make herself look somewhat presentable, and makes her way to the station. She feels pretty terrible, but she can’t miss today’s meeting.

“Solomon, Durazo.” Adelar begins to say. “Tell me everything you learned. Especially about this “Lion’s Den” place.”

Durazo then starts recounting their experience in great detail, Solomon hardly adds anything due to exhaustion. In fact, she can hardly listen.

“Solomon, is everything alright?” Adelar eventually asks.

“Oh, it’s nothing…” She shakes her head and waves her hand dismissively. “I just got a little too focused on blessing last night.”

Adelar pauses at her response.

“Focused on what now?” He asks, raising an eyebrow.

“I imitated that black kite we fought.” Says Durazo. “We can put our magic into objects! Solomon learned how to do it pretty quickly once I explained how to do it.”

“I won’t be able to melt anything in my room even if I tried.” She says with a soft chuckle. The others look a little concerned for her.

“Sounds a little obsessive if you ask me, but whatever gets ya going.” Says Lisa, gently poking Solomon so that she doesn’t just fall asleep at the table.

“It makes me feel great about myself.” Solomon says, rubbing her eyes.

She thinks back to the reactions of the other Mystic Ones she encountered. Such pure horror elicited from someone who wouldn’t want to hurt anyone normally, if it wasn’t for some force beyond her deciding that she should have a destructive power.

“I would love to find out if I can bless living beings, but I don’t trust myself enough for that yet.” Solomon says sleepily. “I want to protect you, in case something… Bad happens.”

“Ain’t she sweet?” Lisa pats Solomon’s back, the cat figures that it’s to try and keep her awake.

“Did you find out anything about the book?” Adelar brings up the mysterious matter.

Solomon’s eyes shoot open. The book… She totally forgot about it. It’s just been so long, and so little came of it so far. Even still, she should have asked Grayson before he got taken away. She should have asked about more things that just weren’t on her mind at the time.

“No…” She says, her mood looking to have worsened.

“No matter.” Adelar says in a tone that tells Solomon that he’s trying his hardest to cheer her up a bit. “A meeting shall be scheduled at Lion’s Den.”

“I’ll do that.” Durazo chimes in. “Has anyone looked into them yet?”

No one speaks up for a few much too uncomfortable seconds. Yaroslav takes out his phone and makes a quick search.

“Found a number.” He breaks the silence, showing the results to Durazo, who then steps away and makes a call. The conversation doesn’t last long, it concludes with them getting an appointment for at most three people next week.

“Next week?” Solomon complains.

“That’s what I was told.” Durazo puts away his phone. “Three people at most… I find that suspicious.”

“I know I’ll be going then.” Says Lisa, leaning back in her chair with a devilish smile. “Trust me, I can be very persuasive.”

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” Durazo remarks, glancing at the wolf. “Which is why I will be going as well.”

“Count me in.” Yaroslav lightly slams the table, clearly excited.

Solomon is left a little disappointed deep inside, but she thinks that maybe it’s for the better. No one, including her, has reacted positively to her markings so far, why would it be different this time? Not that she plans on showing them, but just in case, maybe it’s best if she doesn’t go.

“Very well.” Says Adelar. “Then the three of you will be going. Solomon and I will hold the front in the meantime when the time comes.” He winks at the feline. “Just make sure to get some proper rest then.”

Solomon nods, struggling to keep her eyes open.

“You have done well.” Adelar continues. “I choose to reward you with some time away to practise this “blessing” in private. ” He says with a smile. “I might have to do that myself… Everyone except Durazo, you are dismissed.”

“‘Preciate it!” Lisa taps her can and turns to leave.

Yaroslav shakes hands with Adelar, Durazo stays, most likely to show the eagle how to bless with magic.

“Thanks…” Solomon mutters before leaving as well, wondering how come Adelar didn’t know about such a use of magic. She can’t decide whether or not her job has gotten easier or harder due to this whole magic situation, but she can really see why Adelar offered to double their pay. “Who even finances this company in the first place?”

At the entrance, outside the station, she gets a little startled by Lisa putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Say, Solomon...” She starts, looking down at her, practically radiating a great mood. “Thali and I are planning to go to Herbertville! She asked if you wanna come as well.”

Solomon looks at Lisa and rubs her eyes. Thali? She must mean Thalia, the leopard from Olympus.

“For what?” She finally asks.

“Apparently there will be a special meeting there.” Lisa leans on the wall. “We figured we could bring you as well! Whaddya say?”

“And… What is this meeting about?” Solomon asks and rubs her eyes again.

“Some writer. Pretty niche, apparently? Ain’t heard of ‘er before.” The wolf shrugs.

Solomon feels a sense of uncertainty. That was so sudden… She’s not the most social person, isn’t very fond of strangers, and she isn’t nearly in the proper headspace to make a decision like this so quickly.

“I can answer for sure later, but I really need some rest…” She yawns.

“Fine by me. See ya later, Rox!” The wolf then leaves after spinning her cane around once.

Solomon waves goodbye and starts walking back to her apartment, her mind now on the meeting. Mostly…

“Wait, what did she just call me?”

Feeling like she already fell asleep on the way back, Solomon steps inside her home and crashes into bed.

“I really need to stop doing that…” She says into her pillow, falling asleep within minutes, finding herself back in the barren wasteland.

It almost feels comforting that wherever she goes, she will always eventually end up here, where a dark figure tries its best to touch her. It’s just all the same, every night. “No, on second thought, that’s not comforting at all.”

She then tries to think of something she didn’t try before to possibly escape the thing for good. She thinks of an idea. It’s pretty out there, but if running doesn’t work… She can certainly take a different approach.

After running for a while, stops in her tracks, turns around to face the figure, and focuses on it as much as she can. If it’s a dream, maybe she can order it to stop, maybe her newfound power to protect, not destroy had enough of an influence on her mind to make it stop!

She holds out an arm, focusing all of her mental effort into trying to make the figure stop.

The figure’s running. it keeps running and doesn’t slow down at all, the footsteps and quiet drip, drip, drip filling the otherwise entirely silent atmosphere.

“HALT!” Solomon shouts, hoping that whatever has invaded her dreams would obey her command. It’s her mind and she won’t let it be invaded by whatever it is!

The results… Not so stellar, the figure completely ignores her and keeps pace, drawing uncomfortably close.

Seeing that she has no effect on the figure, she turns and begins running once again. It feels like second nature at this point, but she’s not fast enough. The momentum carries the figure, it lunges and reaches out…

Solomon wakes up and practically jumps up in bed, grasping at her chest.

“Well… That didn’t work.” She states to herself, a little disappointed. “There has to be a way to beat it!” She lightly punches a pillow. “I just know…”

With that, she decides to check her phone and sees that Thalia sent her a message.

“Hey Solomon! I’m sure Lisa already asked you about it, but want to come with us?”

Along with the message, she sent an advert. “Really, Thalia?”

The ad redirects her to a crude website about the event itself: a meeting with the gecko writer Camille Wright in Harbertville. Anyone is welcome to go and tell their real-life experiences that may just be featured in her new book, as well as just hang out. No entry fee required.

“Harbertville…” Solomon has heard the name of that town before, or at least she's pretty sure she did. She recalls that it was built by the sea and is somewhat famous for its exceptional fish and hospitality.

That has her curious, she writes a message to Lisa.

“Is this meeting with some gecko?”

It only takes a few seconds for Lisa to respond.

“How did you know???”

“Thalia sent me the ad.” She herself isn’t sure why those two would be interested in something like this.

“Splendid!” Lisa writes. “You coming, then?”

Solomon feels a bit unnerved about it.

“Just the three of us?” She asks, her mind entirely in different places. What if they run into the Lightborn again? Is Lisa not afraid of that? She’s proven that she isn’t afraid to use her powers to fend off attackers… Then again, maybe Solomon’s just being overly paranoid. Not everyone is out to get her, as long as she has her gloves on, nothing has changed.

“Maybe I could use a break… It’s on my day off after all.”

“Probably. We’ll see if anyone else goes.” Lisa responds. She may not be the most relaxing person Solomon knows, but maybe some of her energy will rub off on her. She also doesn’t really know Thalia, but she figures it’s as good of a time as any to get to know her. She types but one word: “Sure.”

“Brilliant!” Lisa writes back not long after. “Will be coming to pick ya up at 11 in the morning, be ready.”

And so, it is decided. Solomon is excited to spend a little time with her friend, as well as her friend’s friend, in a renowned fishing town.

Just in case they expect something formal during the meeting, she puts on her finest red dress for the occasion, coupled with her scarf and gloves. They almost feel different to wear altogether now that she has blessed them. The thought that she can’t accidentally destroy them, at least not with her power, comforts her.

The next day, Solomon looks through her window after hearing a car’s horn. Like she promised, Lisa comes to pick her up at the time that was agreed upon. Thalia is already in the car, wearing a black and white dress. Lisa is wearing the same outfit Solomon has always seen her wear. She gets out to have a smoke from her pipe, but her lighter doesn’t light up. She scoffs and puts the lighter and the pipe away. Solomon locks her door and makes her way down.

Lisa tips her hat, Solomon waves with a smile.

“Hope ya don’t mind gettin’ the backseat.” Says the wolf.

“Not a problem.” Solomon shakes her head, gets in, and greets Thalia.

“So how’s life been treating you?” The leopard asks.

Solomon thinks about that for a moment. It would be a terrible idea to tell her just about anything that has happened since they last met.

“It’s been alright.” She says with a shrug.

Thalia chuckles softly.

“Been pretty good myself!” Says the leopard. “I got some tales to tell this gecko.”

Lisa gets in, starts the car, and types the address into a GPS.

“Camille Wright…” Says Solomon. “What does she write?”

“Some nonfiction, far as I know.” Says Lisa.

Curious, Solomon decides to look up some of her works. To say the least, she’s not impressed.

“Bucolic Life of the Rural?” She reads out loud.

“Pardon?” Lisa chuckles. “What does that mean?”

“Are we sure we want to meet her?” Solomon questions.

“Come on, I think it’ll be fun!” Says Thalia.

The three converse about their jobs and general lives for a while during the trip. Solomon learns a couple things about Thalia, nothing too important, mostly just about how Olympus is run, as well as some of her hobbies, one of them being painting. Solomon is glad to at least know a little more about the leopard.

On the way, Lisa stops at a shop.

“Sorry ladies, but I have to get a little something from here.” She gets out of the car and walks inside.

Thalia takes out her phone, Solomon presumes that she writes a message to someone.

“So…” Solomon breaks the silence after a few seconds. “How come you wanted me to come as well, of all people? You’ve only even seen me once, right?”

“Oh, I’ve only seen you once, yes.” The leopard responds. “But Lisa mentions you and her other colleagues quite often.”

Solomon thinks that it’s quite nice that she thinks of them outside of work seemingly about as often as she does with them, apparently. Then again, it likely has to do with their powers to an extent.

“Not to mention, thought I’d have the two lovebirds together for a little trip.” Thalia adds.

Solomon’s ears perk up, the statement figuratively hitting her in the face.

“Excuse me, what?” She asks in an indignant tone, leaning forward.

“Oh come on, it’s okay.” Thalia smiles warmly, turning to face her. “I think you picked a fine restaurant for a date.”

Solomon just then understands what the leopard means and shakes her head.

“That was NOT a date.” She exclaims. “We were there on work-related matters to listen in on a conversation.”

“Wait, really?” Thalia asks, looking quite shocked.

“Yes, really.” Solomon frowns, feeling slightly embarrassed. “But… Why? Why’d you think she’d be interested in me?”

“I know what she likes.” Thalia sighs. “I’ve had three years to get to know that.” She says with a hint of offence in her voice.

Solomon then comes to a realisation.

“Wait, you two were…” She says, but Thalia cuts her off.

“Yes.” The leopard says in a bittersweet tone. “We indeed were.”

All of a sudden, Solomon feels a sense of guilt, she didn’t mean to offend Thalia by any means just now. Two vastly different species together… Somewhat uncommon based on what she’s seen, but certainly exists. And who is she to doubt love?

“I’m so sorry Thalia, I didn’t know…” She says, putting a hand over her mouth, wishing she would just be out of such a terribly awkward situation.

“No, it’s fine, really shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions there.” Thalia responds immediately. “It’s just that you know… She has a type and we both happen to be just that type and it seemed a little too convenient and she talks about you a lot…” She takes a deep breath. “You see how I arrived at the conclusion, right?”

“You know after all that…” Solomon says with a nod. “Can’t blame you too much. Don’t get me wrong, I’d say Lisa and I are close, but not that close.” She leans back in her seat and thinks about it for a few long moments. She did spend quite a bit of time with the wolf both during and outside of work, so she’s at the very least very, very fond of her. Someone she’d trust with her life for certain. And someone whose company does make her feel quite happy…

“Yeah, I get that.” Says Thalia. “She’s not really the emotional type, to be honest. I just felt like there was no spark. We’re still on good terms though! But I swear, she behaves like nothing ever happened, like we’ve always just been friends…” Her ears droop slightly.

Solomon doesn’t admit it, but she can see Lisa be that type of person. She’s been there for Solomon when she needed a shoulder to lean on. She wouldn’t take her as much of a lover though… Maybe because of all her quirks, or maybe because Lisa just never talks about any experiences with relationships.

“So when I saw her with you, I just instantly went there mentally.” Thalia goes on. ”Lisa’s a good friend and despite everything, I want her to be happy.”

The two then spot Lisa exit the shop and walk back to the car.

“Is that why you helped with that whole reservation situation?” Solomon leans forward to whisper.

Thalia nods with an awkward smile.

“Thanks for clearing things up.” Solomon turns back, feeling just bad for the leopard. “And sorry for… That, really.”

Lisa gets into the car, seemingly empty-handed, none the wiser.

“What did you even buy?” Thalia inquires.

“Lighter fluid.” She opens her coat, a bottle neatly sitting in a pocket on the inside. She takes it out and puts it on the backseat. “You don’t mind that, right, Rox?”

The cat smiles and shakes her head. They then resume their journey, although very little is said for many minutes.

“Alright, which one of ya killed the mood?” Lisa asks with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. “Or you just need a conversation starter? Both of you know damn well that I never run out of those.” She laughs in blissful ignorance, which does seem to lift the mood.

The three begin to talk about some decidedly more lighthearted topics, including the overly long story of Lisa’s custom-made cane-sword.

Solomon thinks about what Thalia said. She doesn’t think of the wolf any differently, she is her friend and this will not change that. Lisa was there for her when she needed, she will be more than ready to do the same in the future.

“So, have either of you been to Harbertville before?” Solomon asks, eliciting a chuckle from Lisa. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s “Herbertville”.” She corrects her, leaving Solomon mildly confused.

“No, the ad says Harbertville.” The cat says with a tinge of frustration in her voice. “With an “a”.”

“Thali…” Lisa gives the leopard a side-eye look. “I thought you said it was Herbertville? You know, the “City by the Sea”?”

“On it.” Thalia takes out her phone and looks up the ad. “Yeah…” She says in a defeated tone, much to Lisa’s annoyance, then takes the GPS and begins typing.

“Did you even read the ad yourself?” Solomon asks the wolf.

“Thali wrote me the details, which clearly said Herbertville.” Lisa complains.

“Whoever did the naming with those two must have been feeling very funny.”

Solomon never would have guessed that two towns named so similar even existed. She just immediately assumed that it was the renowned fishing town, Herbertville, when she read the ad.

“Where even is this “Harbertville” then?” Lisa asks after a deep sigh.

“Actually, quite close.” Thalia answers, delighted. “Same street address exists there too.”

Solomon takes out her phone and searches up Harbertville. What she finds leaves her quite disappointed.

“Apparently, it’s a ghost town.” She states, feeling a lot less excited.

Thalia and Lisa both turn to face her, although Lisa turns her head back to the road fast.

“Alright, that’s bollocks.” Lisa says in an incredulous tone. “Why would this writer hold a meeting in a ghost town?”

Solomon reads through many sources, they all say the same. Harbertville is indeed said to be abandoned for a few years due to a high tide that left most houses uninhabitable.

“Good thing you brought two investigators, Thalia.” Solomon remarks, growing slightly suspicious.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The three of them discuss what to do, only half an hour’s drive away from the town.

“It says that it left most of the houses uninhabitable. So not all of them?” Solomon guesses. “Maybe some people still live there?” She tries her best not to think too far into it, it’s just an honest mistake. Or possibly a scam.

“Listen, we’re so close already.” Says Thalia. “We might as well check it out. If it looks bad, we just leave. Alright?”

“This whole thing seems like a giant red flag already….” Solomon exhales deeply. “But okay, sure. We’re leaving at the first sign of trouble, though.” She adds, slightly irritated.

“I don’t have the best feelin’ about this either, but let’s be honest… We all have claws and fangs.” Lisa says with a chuckle. “And I have a sword! What’s the worst that can happen?” She winks at Solomon, who smiles and nods back at her.

Lisa’s right. Electricity and acid… If the worst were to happen, they can likely handle it. They decide to go through with the plan and meet this Camille person.

Harbertville definitely looks like a ghost town. Solomon can see that the houses at the lower side of the shore have been extensively damaged by the high tide. However, the address they were given is that of a house at the upper section, where the houses look to be in decidedly better condition. There isn’t a single soul around, regardless.

“Already gettin’ major creeps from this place. Just sayin’.” Says Lisa, looking from side to side, no house seems to be inhabited.

“What is it with me and abandoned places lately?”

The town doesn’t seem to have working electricity, due to the lack of power lines. Looking to the left, they see the house at the address given. It’s an ordinary house with two two floors, a generator running, and overall better taken care of than the rest of the town. There is a dry, dead tree opposite to the house.

“No one else showed up here.” Solomon says, concerned.

“Maybe because this is about the shadiest lookin’ place I’ve seen in a while.” Lisa remarks with a concerned look. “Are you sure about this?”

“We’re here, aren’t we?” Thalia says with a nod.

Solomon considers just staying in the car, but she can’t do that. What if they need her acid power and she’s not there to help them? She can’t take a risk like that.

The three get out of the car, Lisa locks it, cane in her hand, and makes a gesture to let Thalia go first with a slight bow. The leopard walks up to the door with the other two behind her and knocks.

The door swings halfway open not a minute later and a middle-aged, well-dressed sparrow greets them.

“Good afternoon. Here for Camille?” He asks with a welcoming grin.

“Yes, we are.” Thalia nods with a respectful smile. “Good afternoon to you as well.”

“Afternoon.” Lisa tips her hat.

Solomon just nods.

“Then by all means, please come in.” Says the sparrow and opens the door fully. The three enter the house, which looks quite quaint on the inside, decorated with bookshelves and old furniture, flower-pattern wallpaper covering most of the walls. It almost reminds Solomon of Lisa’s house.

The sparrow takes them to a small room lit by a single lightbulb with four single sofas and a desk, blinds cover the two windows of the room. A gecko is sitting on one of the sofas, wearing black trousers, a brown coat, white gloves and spectacles, reading. She seems to be in her fifties.

She looks up from her book as they enter.

“Why hello there!” She says and stands up. “I’m Camille. And you…” She looks at the leopard. “You are?”

“I’m Thalia Blair. And these are two friends who I brought along.” She gestures towards the wolf and the cat with an awkward smile, a little taken aback by the setting. Lisa tips her hat again.

“Please, don’t be intimidated by where we are.” Camille says amicably. “My family has been living in this house for a long time, I just couldn’t move away, even when everyone else did.” There is a hint of sadness in the gecko’s voice. She goes on about how she’s been living her life here, having just that generator, her books, and her butler for a good while now, holding meetings like this.

Solomon listens to her story intently, feeling like she was a little too quick to judge.

“Let’s go upstairs and start our little discussion then.” Camille suggests. “One at a time. I will just have some questions, you tell your tale, and we’re done!” She then walks to the doorframe. “Who wants to start?” She asks with a gentle smile.

Thalia walks over to her.

“I could start, then.” The leopard shrugs, looking a little more relaxed.

Lisa gives her a “be safe” look and sits down on one of the sofas with Solomon. The sofa frankly feels mildly uncomfortable to her, a little too stiff and cool, likely from the lack of use and body heat from the gecko.

“Really, it shouldn't take too long.” The sparrow begins to explain. “Camille is just doing some research for her next book.”

“Yes, we saw that in the ad.” Solomon states, the butler just shrugs.

“She usually keeps her ideas a secret so people don’t steal them.” He then grabs a plate. “Tea, anyone?”

“No, thanks.” Solomon shakes her head, trying her best to be polite.

“Would be pretty fine, yeah.” Says Lisa.

The butler nods and leaves the room.

Solomon once again feels like she was too quick to judge. Although, Camille is currently the only resident of the ghost town. Who wouldn’t get suspicious? But as it turns out, Camille is just a nice lady writing books. A pleasant surprise in her eyes.

Just fifteen minutes later, Thalia comes down, Lisa having finished her tea.

“So, how was it?” Lisa asks.

“Camille just asked some questions, like she said she would. Nothing special. How’s life in Lanolow and the like.” She shrugs. “Who wants to go now?”

“I’ll go.” Solomon stands up. “I want to ask her a couple things as well, I hope she won’t mind.”

Solomon then makes her way upstairs, the same wallpaper covering the walls, and walks into the only room that has its door open. Camille waits for her and insists that she closes the door for Solomon, which she agrees to.

“So then, tell me about yourself a little, miss…” Says the gecko, realising that she never learned her name.

“It’s Solomon. Roxanne Solomon.” The cat smiles, feeling relieved.

“Oh, very well then, Solomon. Tell me a little about yourself before we start.” Camille repeats herself, giving Solomon a sweet look, adjusting her spectacles.

She thinks for a long moment.

“I come from France, I work as an investigator, I used to be an apothecary.” Camille nods as she says that, deliberately leaving out everything that has to do with magic. “I wouldn’t call my life all that exciting.”

“Very well! It’s good to get to know you, Solomon.” Says Camille. “Your friend told me a lot about her work and life in Lanolow. Would you care to say a couple words as well?”

Solomon pauses and rubs her chin, a little embarrassed that there isn’t much she can tell the gecko about the town.

“I’ll be honest, it’s only been a few months since I started living there, so…” She gives an uncomfortable smile.

“Maybe I’m not the best person for this…”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry.” Camille reassures her, taking notes. “Are you adjusting well?”

“Well…” Solomon begins to say, thinking about what happened to her that can be called normal. “Being bilingual certainly helps!” She shrugs.

“I see, I see.” Camille scribbles on her notebook. “Any interesting places you happened to see in Lanolow?”

“Again, I haven’t had a lot of time to properly look around.” Solomon explains. “I’m not sure what else to tell you, really.” She admits.

“Alright then, maybe tell me some of your life experiences while you were in France?” Camille suggests.

“If you insist!” The feline tugs on her gloves. “I personally love chemistry. I would have preferred a job that’s more directly related to it… But I took what I could get.”

“That’s not a subject most people your age like.” Camille remarks. “And this is why I hold these meetings! So many interesting people, waiting to tell their stories!”

Solomon wouldn’t exactly call herself interesting, but she appreciates the notion.

“What do you like about it? What is it that makes you so interested in it?” Asks the gecko.

“It’s really a way to get to know how the world really works if you think about it.” Says Solomon, feeling less tense due to being able to talk about something she likes.

And talk about it, she does, for way longer than she originally thought she would. From her first experiences with it in school to more complex reactions and how spectacular they can look, as well as the science behind it.

“Very well, Miss Solomon!” Camille says eventually, having written a good few pages in her notebook. “That should be enough for this section. Do you want me to include your name?”

“So that’s it?” Solomon inquires. “Just a book about regular people?”

“Everyday people all have a story. I’m just the one who listens.” Says Camille.

“I don’t need you to include my name.” The feline dismisses the offer. “I’m not looking for fame or so.”

“Alright! In that case, we’re done.” The gecko closes her notebook and stands up, ushering the cat outside. “It was nice talking to you! Send in the last one.”

“A nice break from work life for sure!” Solomon nods and makes her way downstairs, thoroughly satisfied with how the meeting went.

“Took ya long enough.” Lisa remarks with a friendly grin. “What’d you tell ‘er?”

“A lot, really.” Solomon sits down on an unoccupied sofa and smirks. “Your turn now. Don’t leave her waiting.”

Lisa stands up and walks up to the first floor, cane tapping against the wooden stairs.

Solomon thought she took her time with Camille. Lisa, on the other hand… She spends about 20 minutes longer than she did. In the meantime, she converses with Thalia and a sleepy sparrow butler.

Eventually, the wolf comes down, followed by a tired-looking gecko. The butler already left the room.

“I could send you the full story later if you’re interested.” She offers with a sly smile.

“I think I’ve heard enough, but thank you.” Camille says, shaking her head slightly as Lisa turns away.

Solomon covers her mouth to hide her amused smile.

“Now, I got more than what I bargained for and it was wonderful to listen to you...” Camille goes to stand in the middle of the room, as if to announce something. “But there’s one more thing.”

Lisa sits down on a sofa, lightly tapping her feet.

“I may not be all that young anymore, but I still have a discerning eye for certain people.” Camille puts her hands together. “People that I want to help.”

Solomon finds that endearing, figuring that the gecko will ask for a small donation for charity or so.

“People who are out of the ordinary, who need our help to understand what’s going on with them, who I launched this campaign for!” She adjusts her spectacles and tugs on the fingers of her right glove, one by one.

“What exactly are you… Referring to?” Thalia asks, looking nervous, which Solomon finds odd.

“It’s simple to explain.” The gecko removes her glove. Solomon’s eyes practically shine with excitement as she sees the pale blue markings in stark contrast with her green scales. “We know our kind, after all.”

Lisa quickly glances at Solomon, worried, then back at the gecko.

The feline is quite elated. Finally! An agreeable Mystic One! Oh, the questions she’ll have to ask…

Thalia, however, is looking increasingly upset, fidgeting with her hands. “What’s with her?”

“Miss Blair.” Camille goes on and clears her throat. “I can tell that you are special. So please, it would honour us if you could come back to our base of operations. You will be compensated greatly for your-”

“Shut up! SHUT UP!” The leopard shouts as she stands up.

“Thali?” Says Lisa, thoroughly taken aback. “Hey!” She exclaims as Thalia forcibly takes the cane from her hands and points it at the gecko, something about what she said clearly having triggered something in her.

“Just please be patient, I’ll explain!” Says Camille, looking surprised.

“Where do you plan on taking me? Some government prison?” Thalia says, mad with suspicion.

“No!” Camille takes a step back, holding out her arms in defence. “We just want to know what you’re capable of! It can’t be easy living with this, we’ll try to help!”

“You want to see what I can do?” Thalia lowers the cane with an incredulous chuckle, seemingly not trusting her one bit. “Fine. I’ll show you!”

“Please Miss-” Camille tries to defuse the situation as the leopard swings the cane, shattering the lightbulb, the room in but a dim darkness now. “Oh dear…”

“Thalia!” Solomon pleads, her mind racing. “Have you lost… Your… Mind?” She manages to say as the leopard drops the cane. Colour seems to visibly drain from her, her body becoming entirely dark, her face, featureless, as if looking at a crude mannequin.

Lisa and Solomon stand up, all eyes fixed on the dark figure of Thalia.

“Please! I’m not here to hurt you!” Camille states, terrified.

“Liar!” Thalia shouts, pointing a finger at the gecko as a gloomy darkness seems to spread from her, slowly covering the room. Solomon can hardly see a thing, even with her night vision, she can barely make out the silhouettes of people.

“Th-thali?” She hears the voice of a scared Lisa, followed by the soft sound of footsteps from her direction.

“Jean!” Camille shouts. “I was right! She’s true-”

Thalia moves over to her at terrifying speed and holds onto the gecko’s neck.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Says the voice of Thalia. “I’m not going to be a part of whatever twisted experiments you have for me.”

Solomon wants to do something, anything to help Camille, but she finds herself unable to, utterly frozen in fear. She doesn’t understand what caused Thalia to have such an outburst, but she understands one thing: she’s a Dark One, and a powerful one at that by the looks of it.

“Will you please just listen!” Camille tries to move, but Thalia holds her firmly.

“I know what you government dogs do to people…” Thalia utters as the gecko only struggles more, and tries to shake her head free. Lisa and Solomon dare not speak while she’s like this.

“But… We’re…” Camille attempts to say as the leopard puts her other hand on the side of her head.

CRACK. Thud. Is all that is heard in the darkness. With one quick motion, Camille is snuffed out along with Solomon’s hopes for answers.

The door is then opened, the butler standing in front of it.

“Miss Camille?” Says the sparrow. Solomon sees the room illuminated, as well as what looks like the silhouette of a leopard. Thalia hisses and shields herself from the light, retreating into the parts of the room that are still covered in this strange, fog-like, darkness that spread from her.

Camille’s body lies frozen over on the floor, Solomon is reminded of the tiger from the amusement park.

With a quick lunge, Thalia jumps at the butler.

Slash. Thud. Solomon can hear the sound of sizzling when Thalia is standing in light for a couple brief moments. She then retreats into the dark once more.

Solomon pushes herself back against a wall, trying to make sense of what just happened. Neither she nor Lisa move, but the wolf just now opens her mouth, panting heavily, looking to be in great distress as she stares at Thalia.

“What.. The fuck…” She says, her voice breaking. “Th-Thali?” She says in no more than a whisper as the door slams shut. Solomon could hardly see Thalia move to close it.

The darkness then retreats back to Thalia, colour returns to her body in an instant. She falls down to her knees, the yellow and white in her fur having faded slightly, somehow looking more distraught than the two of them.

Solomon can now really see just how scared Lisa looks. She wasn’t sure what would happen, but this… This certainly wasn’t it. Lisa goes to reluctantly approach the leopard.

“Thali? What…” She starts.

“Listen, the less I talk about this, the better.” Thalia cuts her off. “You can’t possibly understand what that was. I wish you just forgot about it. I really didn’t want you to see… that.”

“No Thali.” Lisa shakes her head. “Please, I’m sure it would help if you talked about it.” She gets down on her knees and embraces the leopard, a tear rolling down her cheek, the fear in her eyes, gone.

Solomon thinks back to her conversation with Thalia. That knowledge really changes her perspective on this, knowing that they weren’t just friends.

“Maybe…” Thalia sniffles and returns the hug , then looks over at Solomon. “Maybe it would.” Solomon sees Lisa’s tail wag. The two let go of each other.

“But then again… Maybe it’s best if I don’t say anything. I don’t want you to burden you with information that may end up hurting you.” Thalia says with a sombre look. Lisa then indignantly rolls up her sleeve, showing off her marking.

“You sure, mate?” The wolf says with an “I told you so” look.

“W-what?” Thalia looks visibly shaken.

Lisa then glances over to Solomon. She understands what she wants her to do, she walks closer and shows Thalia her hands, gloves off. She may be afraid because of what just happened, but she still wants to help.

Befuddled, Thalia looks at Solomon’s green spiral markings, then back at Lisa.

“Both of you? But… How?” She stands up.

“It’s on my legs and back as well.” Lisa explains.

Thalia shakes her head incredulously.

“Not sure what causes them to appear.” Lisa shrugs. “But they did, and look where we ended up because of it.”

“Lisa… Solomon…” Thalia sighs, looking regretful. “I need to tell you something. Something I would like you to listen to. Something I’ve been keeping secret for a long time. The reason why I did what I just did…”

“Go ahead. We’ll listen.” Lisa says, caressing her face.

“Of course we will!” Solomon tries to sound encouraging.

“Truth be told…” Thalia begins. ”I’m not even a leopard.”

Solomon’s ears perk up.

Lisa looks decidedly more surprised.

“What?” The wolf looks her up and down. “What are you then?”

“I’m sorry I’ve been lying to you…” Says Thalia, looking anxious about how they, but especially Lisa, might respond. “But I didn’t want you to get into trouble. My old life isn’t something I want back, but I’ll tell you this: I’m a panther. I have changed my entire identity once.”

Solomon walks over to them, bewildered.

“This, is just paint.” She holds out her arms. “I paint myself every time I see it start to fade.”

Lisa opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. She shakes her head and looks to the floor.

“That’s why I never wanted to go outside when it rained. It’s sturdy enough, but it’s paint, enough water will wash it off.” She takes a step back from her. “Not to mention, activating this… Thing only makes it fade faster.”

“Thali…” Lisa finally says after a couple seconds of silence.

“Lisa, I understand that you’re upset…”

Lisa then steps forwards and takes her hands in hers.

“It doesn’t matter. What mattered to me, is you, Thali. I don’t care about what you are, I care about who you are.” She says with a wide smile, which turns into a questioning look. “But… Why’d you do that? That’s pretty fuckin’ illegal.”

Solomon really feels like she should give them more privacy, but she absolutely needs to hear that story.

Thalia squeezes Lisa’s hands.

“You see… Being a panther, my fur was entirely black. One day, I noticed that patches of even darker fur appeared all over my body. I thought it was just my coming of age, to be honest. The difference was very subtle, you could hardly see it with the naked eye.”

Solomon thinks back to the first time she noticed the markings on her hands. She wishes it was that subtle. Thalia may just hold more answers than Solomon would have thought.

“It eventually covered my entire body.” Thalia continues, looking down and closing her eyes. Adelar’s words come to Solomon’s mind. “The more it covers the body, the more powerful the magic is… Just how powerful is she then?” She can briefly see a look of shock in Lisa’s expression, which fades when Thalia opens her eyes. She must remember it as well.

“One day when I was walking home from work, I went into an alleyway for a shortcut.” She sighs, regretfully. “That was a bad decision. I was approached by some shady-looking people in suits. They ordered me to go with them and how I’d regret it if I didn’t comply. I’ve never been that scared in my life… I didn’t want to end up like Alan!”

“Alan?”

Lisa wipes a tear from Thalia’s eye.

“And that’s when it happened… All I saw was them panicking, looking around, as if not seeing anything. I could see just fine, of course. I felt a monumental power inside me…” She pauses for a good few seconds, taking a deep breath. “And I killed them. All of them. I felt no sympathy, I felt nothing as their bones cracked.” She backs away from Lisa, as if she’s afraid of hurting her, only to be pulled back. Lisa hugs her and pats her back.

“S’alright, Thali. I’m listening.” The wolf smiles tearfully.

Solomon can’t help but feel a little baffled. This isn’t how Thalia described her earlier at all… In fact, she’s never seen her so emotional before. And from what she heard, neither has Thalia.

“And you know what? I still don’t.” The panther continues as Lisa lets go of her. “But when I went for the last one, that one almost escaped. I reached out from the darkness of the alleyway and pulled ‘em back in. But the light… It hurt. It burned.”

“Just like it did there when the door opened. But then…”

“It only hurts in that form, though.” Thalia admits through a sniffle. “There’s my answer!”

“But there was one problem: there were witnesses.” The panther goes on. “I couldn’t just keep on living that life after that… So I changed my name, painted myself, posed as a leopard and changed just about everything about my life. I thought it all happened because of my connection to Alan, but given today’s events… I guess not.”

“That can’t have been easy, Thali…” Lisa says sympathetically.

“Who’s Alan?”

“And so, that’s how I ended up here.” Thalia continues, finding it hard to keep eye contact with her former partner. “I knew whatever that was can’t have been natural. I didn’t want to end up in some secret government prison!”

“Speaking of…” Solomon puts a hand on each of their shoulders. “We should leave. If more of them come, we’ll be in a really, really bad situation.” She didn’t want to interrupt their heartfelt moment, but it seems like she’s paying the most attention to the frozen body of the gecko. Thalia and Lisa look at Solomon, then one another, and nod.

“Yes. Let’s get out of here.” Says Lisa.

“Promise not to tell anyone. If this gets out, I’m not sure what I could do.” Thalia responds.

“Better yet, I’ll tell you about somethin’.” The wolf smiles at her. “A lot of things we found out about magic.”

Thalia smiles with tears in her eyes. She’s not alone in this. None of them are.

“You’re darkness, I’m electric. Do you think you could tell me a thing or two about your power?” She inquires.

“One thing about it, for starters: I get stronger the darker it is, and since I create this darkness… Yeah, it gets pretty strong. Like you’ve seen. And if you’re electric…” She puts a hand up to her chin. “Wasn’t there a generator outside?”

All of a sudden, Solomon really doesn’t like where this is going. She would have preferred to ask Camille and Jean questions with the hopes of getting an answer about who they work for, but now there isn’t much to be done there. She can’t help pitying the two.

Lisa retrieves her cane and briefly tells Thalia how her power works on the way out, how she can conjure electricity from her body, a lethal voltage if necessary. They walk to the generator outside, which is still running. It isn’t too big, but it’s enough to power the few light sources in the house. As per Thalia’s advice, Lisa simply puts her hand on the generator and concentrates on it, more than herself. “Very similar to how blessing works…” Nothing happens at first.

“Doesn’t seem to be wor-” Says Solomon.

“Hush!” Lisa interjects. “I think I’m getting there…”

Moments later, the two watch as arcs of electricity go up Lisa’s arm, then spread to the rest of her body. Solomon and Thalia take a few steps back just to be safe. She holds it there for a few more seconds, the arcs getting greater in size and number. The generator then shuts down, smoke coming out of it. Lisa however, retains the electricity.

“Didn’t mean to fry the thing, to be frank…” She remarks, removing her hand from the generator, then takes a good look at the dead tree before the house with a wicked grin.

“No Lisa, that’s a bad idea!” Says Solomon, but the wolf already has her arm outstretched, index finger pointing at the tree. She steps forward to stop her, but given how even being in close proximity to her would likely result in her death, she reconsiders very quickly.

“Focus Lisa! Channel it to your fingertip, let it happen naturally!” Thalia encourages her, which Solomon doesn’t exactly approve of. It takes a few seconds, the crackling of electricity getting louder. It builds up in her fingertip and with a crack, a bolt of electricity shoots out from Lisa’s finger. It hits the tree, which bursts into flames in an instant. Some branches break off, jagged, burnt lines are left on it. No trace of electricity remains around Lisa. She lifts her finger and blows on it, as if blowing the smoke from a gun’s barrel.

“Now that was fuckin’ A.” She says with a satisfied look. “Bet that’ll come in handy.”

Solomon is left in awe as Thalia applauds. Is she the only sane one left in this town? Then again, she is haunted by possibly, no, definitely supernatural nightmares, so that’s subject to change.

“Right mates, time to leave, yeah?” Lisa suggests. Solomon can hardly wait to leave the place.

The three hide the bodies of the gecko and the sparrow by the shore, which just about sickens Solomon. They then get into the car and drive away. None of them even look back as they leave.

“So… Can you promise me that you won’t tell a soul?” Thalia asks, putting her hands together.

“I believe we agreed that we won’t. Right, Rox?” Lisa looks back at the cat with a trusting smile.

“Absolutely. Your secret is safe with us.” She says with a reassuring look. “Want us to look into these guys if we ever find out anything about them?”

“Oh, that would be just splendid.” Thalia takes out her phone.

“Who are you writing to?” Lisa asks.

“I’m telling my boss, also known as Zeus, that I’m NOT going in tomorrow. Not after this, no.”

Solomon is only now taking in the reality of the situation, the effects of adrenaline and rather strong emotions having worn off. Her mind has enough dark figures to deal with as it is, but she’s glad to see that there’s one that doesn’t chase her in her dreams.

Either way, she can tell one thing about her friends: neither of them seem to feel any remorse or guilt about Thalia having killed two people. While she understands to an extent, Solomon feels a little on-edge.

On the way back, Lisa and Solomon share the ever-opening secrets of magic with Thalia, including the different types and the patterns in which they generally manifest. Lisa even asks Thalia if she wants to join their investigation group, to which the answer is a definite no.

Solomon ponders whether or not to tell the panther about the true nature of their workplace. Thalia seems trustworthy, but so did Camille at first. Though after everything she’s told her… She feels like she can trust her, but not with that information.

They tell her about magic blessing and take guesses on how darkness may affect objects. She promises to tell them once she gets to trying it out herself.

The trip back goes without any further incident, Lisa takes Thalia back to her home.

Solomon asks if Lisa wants to stay at her place, as she’d like to talk to her about a couple important things. She really just wants to show Lisa her acid-blessed room and discuss the day, as well as Alan. Which she still finds important all things considered.

Solomon takes Lisa to her apartment and proudly presents her acid-immune garments.

“To be honest, it looks like any other clothing to me.” Says Lisa.

With a slight frown, Solomon demonstrates that it indeed isn’t destroyed by acid, which elicits a step back from Lisa.

“Never said I didn’t believe you, now did I?” She says with a chuckle. “But hey, it makes you feel proud. That definitely counts for something, yeah? I know how hard you took this whole magic thing to begin with.”

Solomon smiles and gently wraps a red scarf around Lisa’s neck.

“I think it looks good on you!” The two have a laugh, then converse about the day.

“It’s hard to believe that Thali’s another Mystic One.” Says Lisa. “Yet I saw it with my own eyes…”

“Yeah… Darkness. Never would have thought.” Solomon agrees.

“You think I would have picked up on her being painted for those few years… But I didn’t. Would explain why she spent so long in the bathroom though.”

Solomon recalls her conversation with Thalia.

“If you don’t mind me asking…” Solomon starts. “How come it didn’t work out… Between you two?” Lisa snaps her gaze towards her. Solomon prepares herself, thinking that maybe she shouldn’t have asked that so bluntly…

“Oh come on, was it that obvious?” The wolf asks with a slight blush, not a hint of offence in her words. Solomon nods. Even without her talk with Thalia, it wouldn’t have been hard to figure it out.

“Well, there was my house. She found it kinda creepy. I always found her and her place painfully ordinary.” She scoffs. “Pretty ironic now, huh? Just the way I am could have had something to do with it too. I know I’m a bit different, but that’s just who I am. And that, I ain’t gonna change.”

Solomon takes mental notes. She can respect Lisa’s commitment to her personality, even though refusing to change may be shallow. She has to admit, however, she wouldn’t want her to change at all. She finds her little idiosyncrasies rather endearing at times.

“I think your house is pretty nice.” Solomon responds on a whim. “Kind of comforting.”

“Thanks?” Lisa says with a slightly confused smile. “Never was much of a lover, to be honest. Don’t get me wrong, Thali’s sweet, but it’s better this way. Glad to still be friends, really.” Says the wolf, fiddling with her cane.

“Wish I could say that about my last partner. Now that didn’t last long.” Says Solomon. She’s all but forgotten about him. A cat, lasted a total of two weeks.

“It’s better to just let go sometimes.” Says Lisa.

“Yeah…” Solomon agrees. “I’ll just find someone else!” She says, trying to sound confident.

“Oh, I bet.” Lisa chuckles. “Someone like you? Shouldn’t take long at all.”

Solomon is unsure of how serious Lisa meant that, but it causes her to blush slightly regardless.

“And hey, you did find a use for your power!” Lisa adds upon seeing her reaction. “Sure, you can’t exactly charge things with it… But it’s still pretty neat.”

Solomon gets the mental image of Lisa powering her house with just her magic, which she finds pretty entertaining.

The two sit in the room for a few long, silent moments before Solomon makes a slight chuckle.

“What?” The wolf asks with a curious look.

“It’s nothing, really.” Solomon responds, still chuckling a little bit.

“Okay, now you have to tell me.” Says Lisa, crossing her arms.

“Alright, fine. So, you’re electric, right?” She starts, a mischievous smile in her expression.

“Yeah? What about it?” Lisa raises an eyebrow.

“And you signed up to be a detective… So does that mean…” Solomon laughs heartily. “Does that mean that we can call you WATT-son?”

Lisa looks at the cat with extreme disappointment. Said cat is still laughing.

“Rox, next time you’re at my house, remind me to tell you to leave.” She says in an authoritative tone, although more as a joke. Her response causes Solomon to fall in her bed, hands over her stomach, positively howling at her pun for a good ten seconds straight.

“Ya done?” Lisa finally asks.

“I’m sorry, I just could NOT stop myself there!” She says with a sigh of relief.

“Evidently…” Lisa mutters, giving her a side-eye look.

Solomon lies there, looking from the ceiling to Lisa, who is still frowning.

“I’m really not sure how to bring this up, but…” She begins to say with a faded smile. “Who’s Alan?”

“Oh, Rox…” Lisa says with a serious, sullen look. “An older friend of Thali’s. It’s a sore spot for her though, so please don’t bring him up.”

“Uhm…” Solomon scoots over on her bed. “Okay, I won’t.” She decides not to push the subject, finding her curiosity sated for the time being. If Thalia doesn’t like people talking about him, she’ll respect that. After all, magic is now their mutual secret.

“Good!” Lisa smiles as she reaches out and pets the feline’s head, which causes her to frown.

“That was unnecessary.” She complains, her tail swaying.

“Totally.”